Vain
by thatgirlwhowrites1020
Summary: Albus is an extremely shallow wizard and Scorpius is highly insecure. They used to be best friends until one event tore them apart. Can they ever get along again? Or is it more than just one accident that's kept them apart? Slash. ASP/SM.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first time writing a slash fic or a Harry Potter one. So I guess we'll see how this goes. I'd love comments and suggestions, so please feel free to do so!**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.**

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Albus Severus Potter was an attractive guy. There was no doubt about it, no questioning it. He stood six feet tall and had broad, well defined shoulders. His skin was tanned from years of quidditch. He sported six-pack abs and muscular arms. He had dark, ebony hair which had the tendency of looking as if he'd just left the bed of a woman. And his eyes, well if the rest of his body wasn't hot enough, his eyes certainly sent him over the edge into sexiest man alive territory. His eyes were the same emerald green of his father and grandmother, but just around the pupil was a flash of glittering blue. All in all, Albus was gorgeous, and boy, did he know it.

It was no secret that Albus was conceited. He walked around the halls of Hogwarts with arrogant flare, daring anyone to question his superiority. He was often surrounded by a gaggle of boys and girls alike, some desperately hoping to date him, others just feeding off the popularity associated with being near him. Albus was the most romantically sought after boy in school, one of the smartest in his classes, and the best damn quidditch player Hogwarts had seen since his mother and father. But what he was known for above all else was his condescending, cold, and calculated approach to life. Albus may have been consistently surrounded by people, but there were few he legitimately interacted with, and even fewer who actually liked him as a person. Albus was, for all intents and purposes, an asshole. He was mean to his fellow Slytherin dormmates (though they often thought he was joking around), even meaner to those of other houses, and especially mean to those who were lacking in the looks department. Albus refused to be seen with anyone who didn't pass his inspection for physical beauty. His shallowness didn't end there though, those in his inner circle also needed to be rich, filthy rich in fact. And so, this is why a boy like Scorpius Malfoy would never be allowed to hang around a boy like Albus Potter.

Not that it had always been that way. Scorpius had been Albus' only real friend up until fifth year. Fifth year was the year that many things changed. Albus had begun to really come into his own and the hours of quidditch practice had begun to change his body into that of a muscular man. That was the year Albus realized just how popular he could be. It was also the year James was graduating, and Albus could already feel the pressure of being James Sirius Potter's younger brother lifting.

Scorpius was, too, changing. He practiced quidditch and was nearly as good as Albus, though his lean, seeker build gave him a different type of attractiveness. Scorpius was two inches shorter than Albus, but his more sinewy frame gave him the appearance of height. He had slate grey eyes, reminiscent of nimbus clouds right before a storm. He had inherited the platinum blonde hair of his father, but wore it slightly longer, the ends tickling the tips of his shoulders. Together, Scorpius and Albus were two of the most attractive boys in school. Then winter holidays happened... forever disintegrating Scorpius and Albus' relationship.

Albus smiled at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his tie, the green stripes making his stunning eyes even more striking.

"Almost ready over there, princess?" Cashlin Zabini called from his bed on the other side of the boys dorm room.

"Nearly, _Cashy_." Albus replied. The other boy in the room laughed.

"You let a girl give you a pet name one time..." Cashlin sighed.

"And as your friends, we never let you live it down." Albus winked as he finished the windsor knot on his tie. "Alright boys, let's go."

"Boys? Psh, I'm a man." Hyron Nott proclaimed as he puffed out his chest. Cashlin took this opportunity to punch him in the gut. Hyron doubled over in pain.

"Some man you are." Even Albus laughed at this one. Just as Albus went to grab the door handle, the door opened. Albus' breath caught, but only momentarily.

"Malfoy" he sneered.

"Potter" Scorpius said, managing the same amount of disgust in his voice that Albus had for him.

"Mind moving your ugly mug?" Cashlin spat, glaring at Scorpius and visibly shuddering as his glare reached Scorpius' eyes.

"No problem" Scorpius said with slightly less venom as he sulked over to his own bed in the far corner of the room. There had been a time when him and Albus had bunked next to each other, but that time had long since passed.

Albus ventured one last look at Scorpius' retreating form as he and his buddies left the room, fire whiskey weighing down their bags as they crept through the empty hallways towards the Room of Requirement.

"Why does Malfoy even bother coming to Hogwarts? His face is an injustice to us all." Cashlin angrily whispered as the passed through the dimly lit passages.

"I heard his family had to pay off the Ministry in order to allow him to stay in classes after the _incident_." Hyron added, nearly jogging to keep up with Cashlin and Albus' longer strides.

"Well one would expect that, I mean, you'd certainly have to pay me quite the sum of galleons to force that face upon other people. Those scars are right dreadful, eh Albus?" Albus, who hadn't been paying attention and had been focusing on the Marauder's Map, perked up at the mention of his name.

"What? Oh, Malfoy? Yeah, those are some nasty looking marks he's got. Though personally I find him quite dreadful looking even without the scars." The other two laughed at this statement just as they arrived at the entrance to the Room of Requirement.

"Now let the party begin" Albus said while smirking and opening the door, the loud music blaring for the couple of seconds it took Albus, Hyron, and Cashlin to enter.

Scorpius was glad to have the room to himself. Dealing with his other roommates was more than annoying, it was infuriating. He stripped down to his boxers and padded over to the bathroom, eager to wash away the day's miseries. As he stepped onto the tiled floor of the bathroom, he couldn't help but glance in the large, ornate oval mirrors that covered the right side of the bathroom. Scorpius sighed. He thought that over time, it would get better. He thought that after nearly two years of looking this way he'd get used to seeing himself in the mirror. Apparently he'd thought wrong.

"Bloody git." He muttered as his hand reached up and traced one of the scars that ran from the tip of his forehead and curved around his eye until it reached his upper right lip. When his fingers finished their path, they moved to the next scar that stretched from his upper left pectoral down and across to his right ribcage. These two long gashes were just a couple of many that splattered themselves across Scorpius' face, arms, and upper body.

If Scorpius had been less pessimistic, he might have realized the scars really didn't detract too terribly from his whole appearance. He was still relatively attractive. But all Scorpius could think, all he could notice, was that he was not and would never be as good looking as he had been prior to the accident. And that was enough to crush his spirits. And as if that wasn't enough, this pain of losing his former appearance was coupled with losing his former best friend. And just like Scorpius had thought the pain of looking at himself in the mirror would dissipate with time, he thought the pain of Albus ending their friendship would as well. Unfortunately, he was wrong about that too.

Scorpius sighed one last time as he glanced at himself in the mirror, then he closed his eyes, turned around, and stepped into the shower. Maybe this time the shower's spray would wash the scars down the drain. Or maybe it would at least wash away the memories and pain.

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**Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: This is my first time writing a slash fic or a Harry Potter one. So I guess we'll see how this goes. I'd love comments and suggestions, so please feel free to do so! This chapter is the first one I've ever written with any type of smut, so sorry if anything seems inaccurate or unrealistic. Also, I've just gotten a beta for this story, alec419, and he is absolutely awesome and is saving the day from all the spelling/grammar mistakes I make when I'm just paying attention to the content of the story. So, with all of that said, please enjoy!**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.**

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Scorpius was awoken by a door being slammed and the sound of two bodies stumbling into the room. Just as he was about to open the curtain surrounding his bed, he heard Albus' voice.

"Love, join me in my bed?" Albus hoarsely whispered, his voice dripping with both lust and obvious intoxication. Scorpius couldn't help but roll his eyes. Typical Albus, coming back to the dorm drunk and with a girl at his side ready to have sex with him. Scorpius only hoped Albus wasn't so far gone that he'd forget to put up silencing spells around his bed. The last time Albus had forgotten nearly drove Scorpius mad; there's only so many times you can hear a girl scream, "_Oh Albus!"_ before you go insane.

Scorpius turned over onto his side and covered his ears with his pillow. If this was going to be another night of echoing lip smacks and moans... well, he just wouldn't stand for it. Right as he was about to mouth off telling them to shut up or get their own room, he heard Albus mutter the silencing charm. _Thank Merlin_, Scorpius thought to himself as he tried yet again to drift off to sleep. This task seemed to be easier said than done though. As much as he wanted to fall asleep, Scorpius' mind kept wandering back to Albus.

Scorpius pretended that it was just because he was jealous of Albus. Jealous that Albus was still good looking and popular when he wasn't, jealous that Albus could have anyone he wanted, jealous that he was making spending Saturday night alone in his bed a habit when Albus could go anywhere he pleased. And while it was true that Scorpius was envious of Albus' life, it was more true that Scorpius was envious of Ella and any other girl to wind up in Albus' bed. Scorpius sighed in frustration. Scorpius had tried, originally, to convince himself he wasn't gay. He looked at girls in school, at girls in trashy magazines, he even kissed a girl once or twice, but none of it made a difference. So, at the beginning of fifth year, he stopped trying. He stopped trying to convince himself he was into something he wasn't. That was when the realization began to dawn on him: not only was Scorpius interested in boys. He was interested in a very specific boy; a boy with glittering emerald green eyes and lopsided smile. And no matter how hard he tried to eradicate his crush for Albus, it only grew stronger with each passing day.

Scorpius often wondered whether he would be with Albus today if the accident hadn't happened. The answer was obvious: no way. Albus had made it clear several thousand times over that homosexuality disgusted him. In fact, the few gays that were out in Hogwarts often fell victim to the sneers and jokes of Albus. Scorpius was just glad that the accident had happened before he'd made a fool of himself and told Albus about his feelings. It was bad enough that Albus made consistent jeers over Scorpius' ugliness, but it would've been even worse if the insults were paired with snide remarks concerning his sexuality. Scorpius knew that this crush needed to end, and he figured it would when he left Hogwarts. Unfortunately for him, it was only the beginning of the October of their seventh year. Scorpius closed his eyes, his vision of the drapery being replaced with green, sparkling eyes. Scorpius' last thought before falling asleep was that perhaps tomorrow would be best for him to start to get over Albus... But tonight his mind was free to roam as it pleased -and roam it did- over each and every dip and curve of Albus' figure.

Albus grunted as Emma, Anna, whatever her name was, slipped her hand down his pants. He could feel her drunk, clumsy fingers wrapping themselves around his dick. As she started to move her hand, Albus began to work on the buttons of her blouse. When he decided they weren't coming undone fast enough, he yanked on the fabric, ripping the stitches and sending the buttons flying. Erin, Emily, whoever, seemed to be turned on by this. She greatly increased her hand motions, almost sending Albus into pure ecstasy. But despite his drunken state, Albus still really wanted to get more than a handjob out of this ordeal. Handjobs were for fourth years and losers. He removed her hand from his pants and straddled her. She gasped at the sudden movement, but made no signs of protest.

Soon enough they were both minus clothes and Albus was slipping a condom onto his hard and ready cock. The girl gave Albus a slight nod to proceed and that was all it took for Albus to thrust into her, not caring if she felt any pain, not caring if she was a virgin or not. All Albus cared about was the pleasure he was receiving at this particular moment in time. Albus could faintly hear the girl wincing in pain. _So it is your first time, huh?_ He thought to himself briefly, but only briefly because within seconds he was back to focusing on the pleasure he was getting. After several more minutes of remorseless pelvic movements, Albus came. The orgasm was short and not nearly as satisfying as the one he'd had earlier in the day with Natalie, Nancy whatever. Albus sighed. The girl took this sigh to be a sigh of content.

"That was good, yeah?" She smiled up at Albus, her eyes shining with tears and

seeking approval.

"I've had worse," Albus said, no emotion in his voice whatsoever. A look of hurt flashed across the girl's face, and Albus took this as a sign that it was time for her to leave his bed.

"You can grab one of my t-shirts in the drawer over there to wear back to your dorm," Albus said cooly. The girl stared at him incredulously for a moment before gathering her things in a huff and storming out of the room. Albus rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He just didn't understand why girls got so attached and angry over sex. Sex was just a part of human nature, there didn't have to be any feelings involved. Albus was definitely not the type of guy to involve himself in a relationship, and he honestly couldn't grasp why any guy would ever want to do that to himself. As far as he was concerned, relationships were for fools who believed in love. Albus had learned long ago that love wasn't real. It was just a sham, a front that people put up in order to delude themselves into thinking they were happy with one partner for the rest of their lives. Albus knew better. He had seen the way Victoire had mercilessly ripped Teddy's heart out the year before, watched as his brother James walked all over the feelings of his former girlfriend over the summer holiday. Albus had seen and heard enough to make him certain that love was not real, and Albus had promised himself that he would never, under any circumstances, fall victim to such a stupid and deceptive fantasy.

Scorpius woke up gasping for air and drenched in sweat. It had been right behind him, ready to pounce. His dream self was screaming at him to turn around and cast a spell, or run, or do something! But it was too late. The nightmare ended just like the real life version had, with Scorpius covered in gashes and laying unconscious in a pool of his own blood. Even in his dreams he couldn't escape the accident that had done a lot more than just mar his body. Scorpius drew in a deep breath; tonight was going to be a long one.

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**Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay so first, I'm so so so sorry that I took so long to update. It was finals week, so I was super busy studying and writing papers, etc. Anyway, I don't expect there to be this long of a gap in updates again. This chapter has been beta'd now, so there shouldn't be any glaring errors. Anyway, I'm really sorry about the delay, so without further ado, chapter 3.**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.**

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Albus woke up tired and out of breath. The nightmare recurring throughout the night made sleep nearly impossible. All he could see was woods in every direction. It was pitch black, with the only light coming from a full moon obscured by the tree branches. He was screaming out his name, telling him to run or cast a spell or do something! But he couldn't hear Albus, no matter how loud Albus yelled.

At 6am, Albus finally gave up on sleep. Sitting up and drawing back the curtains of his bed, he slowly stood up and walked over to the bathroom. As soon as he opened the bathroom door, he collided with another body, which sent him falling backwards. The person he knocked into reached out and grabbed him by the arm, effectively preventing him from landing on his arse. Just as he was about to thank the stranger, he noticed the blonde tufts of hair and piercing gray eyes of his savior.

"Watch where you're going, _Malfoy,_" he sneered with as much hostility as he could manage in his sleep deprived state.

"Whatever, Potter," Scorpius said, the comment completely devoid of life or anger. For the first time in over a year, Albus allowed himself to look at Scorpius- really look at him. There were bags under his eyes, his hair was sticking up every which way as if he'd spent all night tossing and turning, and his face was even paler than usual. All in all, he looked terrible... Which, for a second, almost made Albus feel terrible.

After standing there for a couple more seconds than necessary, Albus finally awoke from his trance.

"Well are you gonna move?" Scorpius asked, his perfectly manicured eyebrows arching, the right one unable to reach its full height because of the scarring.

"What? Oh right, yeah. Whatever," Albus managed to mumble out, before stepping aside to allow Scorpius to pass. Scorpius gave him a strange look and rolled his eyes before heading out. Albus mentally slapped himself. Why the hell had he picked this day, of all days, to finally recognize the damage wrought on Scorpius' face without making fun of him? He should have been in a great mood, being extra mean to all those not worthy in his eyes. Albus looked at himself in the mirror. Besides the missing tell tale signs of a good night's rest, Albus looked his usual sexy self. He shook his head and stepped into the shower, momentarily forgetting the awkward ordeal that had just gone down with Scorpius. Today was his day; he wouldn't let some marred loser ruin it for him.

Scorpius sighed as he opened his trunk to grab his school robes. He was absolutely exhausted. After four or five dreams of the same nature, he had opted out of sleeping at all. As if the lack of sleep wasn't enough, today was also one of the worst days in Hogwarts history: AP Bid Day. AP stood for Attractive Persons, but everyone knew that it also had something to do with the founder's initials: Albus Potter. Albus had started the club at the beginning of his sixth year. It was founded solely on the idea that all the attractive people in Hogwarts should meet together and discuss everyone else, while simultaneously discovering who was considered attractive enough to hook up with that year. Overall, the club was stupid and shallow. And it probably wouldn't have bothered Scorpius much except for two things: firstly, it meant that all day Scorpius would have to see all the girls get bids that Albus would potentially be sleeping with during the year; and secondly the day involved tormenting all the people who didn't get bids. Scorpius, for obvious reasons, had never received a bid. So today was going to be crappy- really crappy.

Scorpius left the room to go to the Great Hall, the promise of fresh pumpkin juice and steaming hot eggs being the only two things that could possibly remedy this day at all. However, fate was against him as usual: As he exited the Slytherin common room and went up the stairs out of the dungeons, he was greeted with the image of Albus giving out the first bid to a fifth year Hufflepuff named Arabella Calanthe. While the act of giving out the bid was supposed to just be a rose for girls and a pin for boys, Albus was taking this bid quite a bit further. He had the rose alright, but he also had his hand halfway up her thigh and was rather busy marking her neck with hickeys. Scorpius gasped, causing Albus to look up.

"What do you want Scarface? Beat it, ugly," Albus snarled, returning his attention to Arabella's soft, white neck.

Scorpius didn't even bother to respond. He just shook his head and walked away. Tears began to sting in the corners of his eyes; he angrily wiped them away. He couldn't understand why he was being such a bloody girl about everything with Albus. It'd been two years, so he should have been over it. He'd watched Albus bring countless beautiful girls into their dorm; he shouldn't be surprised that Albus was taking advantage of an innocent fifth year Hufflepuff. And yet, seeing him with her, seeing him kissing her neck like that; it made Scorpius insanely jealous. He knew Albus would never want him like that; he'd probably never even want to be Scorpius' friend again. But that didn't mean Scorpius didn't hope or feel hurt when he saw Albus with someone. _Stop the pity party, mate,_ Scorpius thought to himself. Scorpius slumped against the wall in a hallway, giving up on the idea of breakfast for the day. Instead he spent his morning thinking about Albus and wishing that somehow, someway, things would get better.

Albus tried to pick up where he left off with Arabella, but since she was an innocent little Hufflepuff, she pushed him away.

"Albus, someone could walk by, someone already has!" she said with a slight playful smile. She grabbed his tie, placing a heated kiss on his lips that had him begging for more. Or at least, that would have had him begging for more if something disturbing hadn't happened. As he closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, his mind turned Arabella's long, dark curls into wisps of blonde hair. Her honey-brown eyes turned to steel-grey. Albus' eyes shot open, his voice catching in his throat as he managed to choke out, "sorry Arabella, I've gotta go." He practically threw her rose at her and took off running, ignoring Arabella's calls of "wait up Albus!" in his dust.

Albus didn't want to think about what had just happened. He didn't want to think about the fact that the hot girl he'd just been making out with had turned into Scorp in his mind. _Scorp_. God, he hadn't called Scorpius that in years. What the hell was going on with him? He shook his head; he was not about to let a random incident influence this day that was supposed to be the best day of the year. Except, this wasn't the first incident. It was probably the twelfth or fortieth or hundredth. Ever since Scorpius' accident, he'd been having this problem. At first, he thought it was the guilt over what happened. But as time wore on, Albus began to realize a very important fact: he was attracted to Scorpius. Albus groaned at this realization in annoyance. He was not gay; he would not be gay. He would figure out a way to make this disgusting attraction end. Because not only was Scorpius a boy, but he also wasn't physically perfect- two things that Albus found particularly bad. Albus turned a corner, eager for an empty hallway to drown his sorrows in before the chaos of the day to come. But as he rounded the corner, the boy currently plaguing his thoughts caught his eye. _Shite,_ Albus thought. This was not going to be his day after all.

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**So, I hope you all enjoyed. I've really appreciated all the reviews and alerts and favorites so far! So please, feel free to review, etc. I appreciate it so much! Thanks again :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**First, thanks for all the reviews and alerts last chapter! They really mean a lot to me :) Second, I know I just said that I wouldn't go so long between updates again... But I'm afraid I lied a little bit. I'm going to Disney World tomorrow through Saturday, so the earliest I could update would be next Sunday. That said, in order to try and make up for it, I'm posting this chapter now. Anyway, once again, I'm really sorry but I hope you don't hate me and like this chapter. This has been my favorite one to write so far :) So, please enjoy!**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do not.**

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Scorpius heard footsteps and tried to quickly wipe his face of tears. These efforts were futile though, since his eyes were puffy and his nose was running from the two minute sob fest he had allowed himself. He managed to look up and through blurred vision recognized the figure approaching as none other than Albus. After sniffling, he muttered, "what do you want, Potter?" His voice was just barely short of pathetic. Absentmindedly, his fingers ran along the length of the biggest scar on his face. Albus looked apologetic and concerned, but only for a moment, as the look was quickly replaced by one of anger and disgust.

"Nothing Scorpius. Just wanted to laugh at your hideousness for a couple more seconds." Albus laughed, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Scorpius didn't fail to notice this, or the fact that Albus had just referred to him by his first name for the first time in almost two years.

"Interesting, I'm Scorpius now?" he asked, some of the condescending Malfoy air finding its way into his voice. Albus blinked rapidly, obviously flustered by Scorpius' comment.

"Well that's your name, isn't it?" Albus said, attempting to regain control of the situation. "Or have you renamed yourself Scar after those nasty looking things all over your face?"

Scorpius looked at him with obvious hurt in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something then quickly shut it.

"Ah, so Scarface it is then?" Albus spat.

Scorpius looked down as he said, "You know what, Al? Forget it." He stalked off, leaving a guilty Albus staring after him.

"Always have to ruin everything don't you, Albus?" he whispered to himself. He contemplated running after Scorpius but immediately thought better of it. He hadn't spent any time checking up on Scorpius in the last year and a half, so why should he start now? Then again, Scorpius had just called him Al. It had been in an upset tone, but it still counted for something, didn't it? Albus hadn't realized how much he'd missed Scorp until then. Scorp. There it was again, the childhood nickname resurfacing. Maybe he'd been wrong... Maybe Scorpius was what he needed after all... Maybe he could finally release all of the guilt of Scorpius' accident. Albus pondered all of this as he made his way to his first class of the day: Potions.

To say Scorpius was in a dreadful mood was putting it lightly. It was only nine o'clock in the morning, and he was already praying the day would end. As he trudged his way back down into the dungeons for Potions, he could hear the snickering of Hyron and Cashlin. Scorpius assumed they were beginning the day's activities of tormenting those who were less fortunate in the looks department. He felt bad, but not bad enough to intervene and risk the attention being focused back onto him. He managed to slide past the sixth year Ravenclaw girl that they were insulting mercilessly. He took his usual seat in the left hand corner of the room and laid his head down on the table. With his eyes shut, Scorpius tried to wish himself through this day. When no such luck came to him, he lifted his head off the table and opened his Potions book.

Five minutes later, Cashlin and Hyron entered with the crying Ravenclaw girl a couple feet behind them. They took their seats just as Professor Higgs began his lecture. It took a full ten minutes for Scorpius to notice that Albus wasn't there. He looked over at Cashlin and Hyron, trying to read their expressions to find out if Albus' absence was planned or not. Neither seemed to be smirking or exhibiting any other traits that would lead Scorpius to believe Albus' absence had anything to do with a prank or other AP related business. So, after Albus had missed the entirety of their Potions class, his worry changed from mere curiosity to slight panic. As Hyron and Cashlin exited the classroom, he followed them. He hoped they would be able to lead him to Albus, but when he discovered they were merely going to Charms, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. While Albus was known to be a slight trouble maker and rules bender, he was not known for skipping classes. Albus thrived in school and thrived off the superiority he felt it gave him. He wouldn't dare miss a class, not when there was the chance to show someone else up.

Scorpius backtracked to the hallway he had last seen Albus in. He didn't see the familiar black mess of hair anywhere. Just when he was about to give up, something caught his eye: on the floor leading into a closet was a thin, messy trail of blood. He raced towards it, desperate to discover if it led to Al. He reached the door handle and pulled. The door wouldn't budge. While Scorpius was not the strongest boy at Hogwarts, he certainly wasn't the weakest either. So the fact that he couldn't open this door was troubling, especially since the doorknob turned meaning it wasn't locked. Just for the hell of it, Scorpius reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand. "Alohomora!" he whispered. He yanked on the door handle, once again unable to move it. He was about to give up and go get a teacher when an unsteady Albus fell out of the door and into his arms.

He caught him awkwardly, considering Albus was bigger than him.

"Woah, Albus. Hey, Albus!" he yelled, taking notice of the long gashes on Albus' face. He put his arms under Albus' armpits and hoisted him up and against the wall. He examined Albus, trying to see if there was any other damage besides the marks on his face. When he realized that was all that seemed to be wrong, he finally looked into the closet Albus had fallen out of. On the wall at the back of the closet were the words, _Who's Scarface now?_ Scorpius gasped and shuddered. He turned away, trying to focus on helping Albus again. He conjured up some water and grabbed a handkerchief from his robe's pocket. He began to wipe at the wounds, discovering they were going to leave marks for a while, but were nothing that would last forever. They were not like the permanent marks that adorned his face. Scorpius sighed, and realized that once again, Albus was the lucky one. As he was wiping away the last of the dried blood, Albus stirred.

"Scorp? Is that you?" he whispered, his eyes filled with an emotion Scorpius couldn't quite place. Just as he was about to answer, Cashlin and Hyron stormed down the hallway shouting.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM, YOU UGLY BASTARD!" Cashlin bellowed, as he raced towards Albus' side.

"What the hell have you done?" Hyron screeched, as he grabbed Albus by the arm. They picked him up and started to drag him away while Scorpius sat there speechless.

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe you should come with me," Professor Higgs said, gripping Scorpius' arm as he said it. Scorpius was unable to respond. Everything that had happened in the last ten minutes was too much for him to handle. He allowed Professor Higgs to escort him to the Headmistress' office, chancing one glance back at Albus as he was walking.

Albus didn't really remember what had happened. One minute he was in the hallway on his way to Potions, and the next he was in Scorpius' arms. He vaguely realized his face was stinging, but was too caught up in wondering why Scorp was being taken away to put two and two together. He was so disoriented that he actually whispered, "Why are they taking my Scorp away again?"

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**So, there's that! I hope you enjoyed and as always, reviews are really appreciated. Once again, totally sorry that I won't be updating for a week, but I'll make it up to you guys in the next chapter :) Thanks again for reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**I know, I know, I suck. I said I'd update like a week ago and I didn't. I'm sorry I'm so terrible. I just got mega busy and didn't have time to write and I'm really really sorry. Thank you so much to the wonderful people who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! It means so so so much to me, really. Anyway, before I go on for too long, here's the newest chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.**

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Scorpius allowed Professor Higgs to lead him to Headmistress McGonagall's office. He was used to this trek, considering he'd taken it dozens of times with Albus in their first five years of schooling. However, he hadn't been down to McGonagall's office in two years, meaning that he was pretty nervous right now. He knew that it certainly looked like he was guilty of whatever had happened to Albus. And he knew that being a Malfoy and consistent enemy of Albus nowadays probably wouldn't help his case. He sighed and wondered if things would ever go his way.

Professor Higgs lightly pulled on his arm as he muttered the password to the Headmistresses' office. Scorpius climbed up the stairs, dreading this encounter more and more with each step. How was he going to explain what happened? The whole situation seemed so unlikely... He was going to get a detention for sure, and he might even get expelled. That would be really crappy, considering how much time and effort his father had put in to keep him at the school after his accident. Scorpius' shoulders slumped as he entered the office.

"Mr. Malfoy. Professor Higgs." McGonagall nodded her head at them. "What brings you two to my office on this fine afternoon?"

"Well Minerva, it appears as if Mr. Malfoy here was with Albus Potter during a rather unfortunate accident," Professor Higgs said.

"An accident? I certainly hope Potter is alright," McGonagall replied, her eyebrows raising slightly.

"Well, he certainly will be after a visit to Poppy."

"So, what is it exactly that happened?" She looked back and forth between Professor Higgs and Scorpius expectantly.

"Er, Scorpius? Care to elaborate on what occurred?" Professor Higgs turned to Scorpius. Scorpius exhaled the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in and began his story.

"Well, Albus and I had been talking before Potions, you see. And... well... we got in a sort of argument- well, not argument! No, that's not the right word." Scorpius was getting flustered. How could he prove he was innocent when he was making himself look guilty with every word he said?

"It's alright, Mr. Malfoy. Continue," McGonagall said, trying to calm the obviously worked up boy.

"Okay. Well, after we finished... uhm... talking, I went to Potions. Then halfway through, I realized Potter hadn't shown up yet. So I followed Nott and Zabini after class, hoping they were meeting up with Potter." Scorpius was trying really hard to keep his voice even and steady.

"Why would you do that, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Higgs chimed in.

"Well, I wanted to make sure that- well, I wanted to check and see if- I was worried about him, Professor," Scorpius managed to finally get out.

"Worried... Why?" Professor Higgs asked, genuinely curious. He'd obviously noticed the drastic change in friendship between the two in the last couple of years.

_Because I'm madly in love with him and still stupidly worry about his well being, that's why,_ Scorpius thought to himself.

"I just wanted to make sure he was okay? I don't know, Professor," Scorpius answered.

"It's alright, Scorpius. What happened next?" McGonagall interrupted, eager to hear the rest of the story.

"I went back to the hallway where we had been arguing earlier that morning and noticed a thin trail of blood leading to a closet. So I tried to open the closet door, but it wouldn't budge. I even tried Alohomora!" Scorpius exclaimed, hoping they would believe him for the truth he was speaking.

"Of course you did, Mr. Malfoy. What happened after that?" McGonagall said in a reassuring voice. Maybe Scorpius wouldn't be in trouble after all!

"Well, the door sort of just opened, and Albus fell into my arms." Scorpius said.

"And he fell into your arms in his current state?" Professor Higgs questioned.

"Yes, sir." Scorpius answered.

"And what state exactly is that, Professor?" McGonagall inquired.

"Albus has scratches all over his face, Minerva. And on the closet wall some words were written in red ink."

Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief; he'd thought the writing had been in blood. Red ink was a lot less worrying.

"And what words were these?"

"I believe it said, _Who's Scarface now?_" Professor Higgs responded.

"Oh heavens!" McGonagall exclaimed. "And you had nothing to do with any of this, Scorpius?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No, ma'am"

"Did you see anyone or anything suspicious in the hallway on either occasion, both before and after your argument with Albus?" McGonagall asked, her eyes very serious.

"Nothing I can remember, Headmistress. I'm sorry" Scorpius said. He wished he'd seen something or someone so that they could pay for what they'd done to his Albus. _His Albus?_ What a joke that was. He needed to get over this crush, and quickly.

"Alright, Scorpius. Then I suppose you can go back to your common room now. Terence? Could you put a note out to all the teachers about this incident?" McGonagall had gone into protective mode. She was not about to have another Chamber of Secrets incident at Hogwarts.

"Of course, Minerva," Professor Higgs replied. Then both he and Scorpius exited the office.

"If you see or hear anything else, Scorpius, don't hesitate to find me or another professor," Professor Higgs said, as he walked down the opposite corridor that Scorpius was going to take.

"I will, Professor," Scorpius said, hurriedly walking towards the dungeons.

* * *

Hyron and Cashlin nearly dropped Albus when they heard what he'd said.

"Your what?" Hyron exclaimed, letting Albus' legs crash to the ground.

"Ow! What the hell, mate?" Albus cried, finally becoming aware of the situation.

"You just called Malfoy, _My Scorpius_. Sorry if I was a bit distracted, eh?" Hyron said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" Albus' eyes went wide momentarily, terrified that they'd caught his slip up.

"I'm saying that you just called Scorpius yours, like a bloody faggot!" Hyron yelled, his arms flailing about.

"I did not do that," Albus responded defiantly. He was their leader after all; they had to listen.

"I don't know what's worst: the fact you called Malfoy yours, the fact you might be a shirt lifter, or the fact that you're lying about it!" Hyron bellowed, storming off down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"What's his problem?" Albus asked.

"I don't know, mate. Hyron has a point," Cashlin said, finally standing Albus up.

"Not you too, Cash," Albus said.

"Well, you have been acting strangely around him lately. I heard you call him Scorpius earlier in the hallway... and you called him by his first name again just now," Cashlin said, sincerely curious about his friend's well being.

"I'm not acting strangely at all! Get off my case!" Albus yelled.

Cashlin took a step backwards, eyes wide. "Fine, _Potter._ Be that way. Have fun being ugly for the week!" Cashlin spat, as he stalked off in the direction Hyron had gone a minute prior.

"Cashlin, wait, I-" Albus started, but gave up as Cashlin's figure continued down the hallway with no intention of turning back around. Wait, Cashlin had told him to have fun being ugly... What the hell did that mean? Albus walked over to one of the suits of armor in the hallway and used it as a mirror. He gasped as he took note of the long, angry gashes cutting through his formerly perfect face. His eyes actually started to water as it sunk in that his beautiful face had been marred.

"Just what I needed," Albus muttered to himself. He could've gone to the hospital wing, but he figured there wasn't much Madame Pomfrey could do for him. And besides, he'd rather be alone and lament over his temporary loss of looks and argument with his friends. He turned around and walked down the hallway back towards the common room, seeing a familiar blonde head up ahead of him.

Before he could think about the potential problems of talking to Scorpius, he opened his mouth and yelled, "Hey, Scorp! Wait up!" He ran to Scorpius' side, naturally falling into stride with him.

"What is it you want, _Potter_?" Scorpius sneered. Albus' face momentarily morphed into one of confusion before he remembered he shouldn't be talking to Scorpius.

"Uh nothing, my bad," Albus said, the usual confidence and condescension missing from his voice.

Scorpius felt bad for a second. So Albus wasn't actually trying to be a dick this time. How unusual.

"Albus, I'm sorry. What's up?" Scorpius asked, his eyes filled with concern now that he knew Albus was being sincere.

Albus looked into Scorpius' grey eyes, getting temporarily lost in their stormy depths. He was going to ask Scorpius what happened to his face. He was going to ask Scorpius how he'd found him. He was going to ask Scorpius any number of things, but instead he closed his eyes and leaned in, his lips finding the very surprised lips of Scorpius.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed. Glad to finally be able to put a little Scorpius Albus action in there, even if it was only a kiss. Anyway, as per usual, please review! I really love hearing from you guys, even if its criticism. Thanks again, and I will really try to update a little more regularly. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! So here's an update and it hasn't been like two weeks! So yay me! hahaha. Anyway, this chapter hasn't been beta'd yet, so I'll post the beta'd version once it's been corrected. Anyway, thanks for the alerts and favorites last chapter. I hope you all enjoy :)**

***WARNING: This chapter contains self-harm. This fic does have an M rating, so I don't feel too bad putting this type of mature content in here, but just an extra warning in case you don't want to read that kind of thing. :)**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do not.**

* * *

Hyron couldn't believe his eyes. When he'd turned around and decided to hunt for Albus and apologize, this was definitely not what he imagined he'd come upon. He first thought that he should yell something out, that he should saying something to make this disgusting scene end. But then he got a better idea. He was going to use this little nugget of knowledge to his advantage. He was going to out Albus Potter for the little faggot loser that he was. And then he could be the most popular boy in school. It was a brilliant plan.

* * *

Scorpius' first reaction was to pull away, to push Albus off of him. But as Albus' tongue found its way to his lips and began seeking entrance to his mouth, Scorpius was not one to deny it. He melded into the kiss, eagerly returning Albus' enthusiasm and fervor. His hands, which had been resting limply at his sides, came to life, cupping Albus' face. As Scorpius' hands came to Albus' face, Albus roughly pushed Scorpius up against the wall, grinding into him with two years of unrequited passion. Albus' hands roamed up and down Scorpius' lean frame, finally resting at his ass. Scorpius gasped at the unexpected contact, feeling a familiar tightening in his pants. Albus grinded into him again, a similar hardness coming into contact with his own. Albus grunted and slammed into Scorpius again, eager for the contact. Scorpius was about ready to rip Albus' clothes off if a noise hadn't interrupted their make out session. Both boys heads snapped up, just catching sight of a retreating figure in Slytherin robes.

"Shit, Hyron," Albus mumbled, quickly taking a step back from Scorpius and averting his eyes.

Scorpius' eyebrows raised in fear. If Hyron had seen them... Well that was not going to go over well for Albus' popularity. "Albus, it'll be okay" Scorpius tried to soothe.

"Okay? In a matter of minutes the whole school is going to think that I'm a bloody faggot!" Albus screamed, not caring if he was being inconsiderate of Scorpius' feelings.

Scorpius knew that he should be upset by Albus' words. He knew he should be angry at Albus' complete indifference to his feelings. But instead, he shook his head and said, "I could say that I attacked you. I could say that I kissed you and Hyron didn't stay long enough to see you push me away and punch me.'

Albus looked at Scorpius, surprise clear on his face. "You-you'd do that? For me?"

Scorpius answered without thinking, "Anything for you, Albus."

Albus' face turned from admiration to fear, almost like a switch had gone off. "Anything for me, eh?" he said, as a cruel smirk began to form on his lips, "What, are you bloody in love with me or something?"

Scorpius stepped back, aghast. "What? I offer to do something fucking nice for you and you repay me with that?" Scorpius yelled.

Albus responded with equal volume and frustration, "Nice for me? You think kissing me against my will was nice?"

Scorpius thought at first that Albus was just playing into the act he'd invented a minute prior, but the amount of vehemence in Albus' voice told him otherwise.

"Listen, _Malfoy_, you may think that I was in to whatever it is that just happened, but to be honest, I've lost a lot of blood today. And that tends to lead to poor decision making. So don't think, for even a second, that your gay little feelings are returned, because they most certainly are NOT!" Albus screamed, storming off down the hallway.

Scorpius collapsed in the hallway. This day had been too much for him. He buried his head in his hands and cried harder than he ever had before. He definitively decided that the phrase, "Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all" was complete bullshit. Loving Albus and having him, even if it was only for a couple minutes, and then losing him was way worse than the pain of merely being alone without having experienced love forever.

He angrily shoved his robe sleeves up and drew out his wand. He muttered the same spell over and over again and watched as angry red lines that matched the ones on his face began to appear up and down his forearm. He didn't care that these would scar him, as far as he was concerned, a few extra scars didn't really mean much. He didn't care that after how much the unintended scars bothered him, it'd be ridiculous to cause new scars to appear. He didn't care about anything except Albus' words, "don't think, for even a second, that your gay little feelings are returned". Scorpius had been an idiot, a moron, the king of stupidity, to think that Albus loved him too.

* * *

Albus stormed into the common room, grabbing Hyron roughly by the collar of his robes and trying to get him into a private room.

"Woah, hands off, buddy. Do you want a snog session with me too?" Hyron asked in a mocking tone. The rest of the common room erupted into laughter.

Cashlin moved next to Albus, "Is it true?" he asked, sincerity blending in with the taunting nature of the room. Albus looked from face to face, each one snickering at his misfortune.

"It's not true! I'd never kiss Malfoy, he's as ugly as they come!" Albus bellowed, hoping that someone would listen to him and believe him.

"I don't know, Potter" Hyron started, "If you looked in the mirror perhaps you'd realize that you're not looking so hot either." Albus' hands immediately went to his face, remembering the unfortunate gashes all over him.

"If I were you, I'd get out of here" Cashlin whispered. Albus shook his head at first, desperate to make the room believe him, desperate to get the school on his side again. When it became increasingly obvious he was going to have no such luck, he ran up the stairs into his bedroom.

Once inside, he climbed into bed and closed the curtains, casting both protective and silencing charms around him so no one could disturb him or hear him cry. As soon as he was certain no one was going to bother him, he broke down. Tears streamed down his face. He didn't love Scorpius, he didn't even like Scorpius! It was all just a misunderstanding, a moment of confusion that Scorpius took advantage of. He wasn't gay, he liked girls. It wasn't long before the exhaustion of the day took its toll on Albus and he fell asleep, a familiar nightmare creeping into his mind.

_He was running through the woods, Scorpius' screams loud in his ears. They'd let him go and he thought he'd be able to save him, to stop them. But as he ran, dodging tree branches, roots, and underbrush, he realized this was their intention. They freed him so he could watch. They freed him so he could have the illusion of being able to save Scorpius without actually being able to. He came to the clearing just as the big, gruff looking wizard bellowed the final curse, a blue jet of light slashing across Scorpius' face and torso. He watched as Scorpius bled, watched as the dark magic seeped into him replacing the blood lost. He screamed for Scorpius, desperate for him to get out of there before it was too late. But Scorpius couldn't hear him, just as he couldn't hear Albus' desperate pleas before. Just as the wizard was about to lay down another curse on Scorpius' mangled body, a white light appeared, blinding Albus and knocking him out_.

* * *

**So, there's that! I hope everyone enjoyed the Scorp/Al kissing session, even if it didn't end quite as well as I'd have hoped. I hope everyone is still interested and next chapter you'll get a closer look into Scorpius' accident as well as Albus being his usual arrogant (though now demoted in popularity) self. I promise he'll come around ;) Anyway, please review! It's super appreciated. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Sorry for the really long time between updates again. I feel really bad, I just had no motivation to write. However, now I'm back on track and have a much better idea of where I want this story to go. This chapter hasn't been beta'd yet, I will update it as soon as my wonderful beta gets back to me. Thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! They mean so much to me and really do encourage me to write more often. Anyway, once again, sorry for the long time between updates. I hope y'all don't hate me too much. That being said, here is the latest chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoy! :)_**

**_JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not._**

* * *

_Albus woke up screaming. Luckily he'd cast the silencing spells around his bed, otherwise his fellow Slytherins would've woken up. He untangled the sheets from around his legs and took his shirt off. His whole body was covered in sweat and he was gasping for breath. The dream, or nightmare really, had been too real. It was as if it wasn't even from a memory, but merely an exact reincarnation of the event that had taken place two years ago. He buried his face in his hands and began to weep._

_"I'm so sorry, Scorp. I'm so, so sorry" he muttered for what seemed like hours._

* * *

_Scorpius didn't return to the Slytherin dormitories until the first rays of dawn began to peak on the horizon. His robes' sleeves were stiff with dried blood. He was amazed that no one had caught him in that corridor, out way past curfew. He slipped out of his school clothes and into pajamas, not even bothering to clean or patch up the many red gashes that danced along his forearms. He was at a point far past caring. There was a part of him, a bigger part than he'd like to admit at this point in time, that wanted to check on Albus. He knew that Hyron would not be treating him well... In fact, there was a good chance that there wasn't a single Slytherin who would be treating Albus well. Scorpius wished they were still friends so he could comfort him. Scorpius wished that their kiss had meant half as much to Al as it had to him. But mostly, Scorpius wished that for once things could go his way. Sighing at the realization his unluckiness wasn't about to end, Scorpius tucked himself in bed and drifted off into a dreamless sleep._

**_Three Weeks Later:_**

_Scorpius walked along the corridor, unnoticed as usual. He kept his head down and his eyes concentrated on the floor in front of him. Ever since Albus had been dethroned as the president of AP and been severely demoted in popularity, Scorpius had been able to avoid teasing. Most of the AP members that had previously spent all their waking hours mocking and pranking him now spent their time messing with their former president. But that didn't mean Scorpius was going to walk around the Hogwarts unafraid. Because as much as AP didn't seem to want to bother/deal with him anymore, there was still one person who very much did. One person Scorpius very much didn't want to deal with._

**_Flashback:_**

_Scorpius rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the three hours were simply not enough given his mental state. He slowly got out of his bed and stretched. Most of the other boys had gotten up and left for class. Luckily for Scorpius, he didn't have class for another hour and a half. He yawned one last time before heading to the bathroom, ready for the hot water to wash away the dried blood that had caked itself on his arms. As he sleepily stumbled his way into the bathroom, he failed to notice the dark brown mop of hair that had strode into the dormitory. Eager for the shower and promise of cleanliness, Scorpius almost didn't process and respond when he heard Albus._

_"Just great, the Slytherin faggot off to wash up"_

_Scorpius turned around, his vision foggy from the heaviness of his eyelids. However, the feeling of sleepiness and disorientation did not last, as he straightened himself out and looked Albus straight in the eyes._

_"From what I can tell, you should've pluralized faggot" Scorpius said, the Malfoy air clearly apparent in his tone. Scorpius didn't even have time to think or defend himself because the moment the final word left his lips, Albus had punched him straight on in the jaw then turned around and ran off. Scorpius was left stunned._

Scorpius rubbed his jaw at the memory. Since that day, Scorpius had been avoiding Albus like the plague. At first he was outraged and wanted to seek revenge. But after seeing all the mean things Hyron and his band of goonies were doing to Albus... His revenge seemed less and less necessary.

* * *

Albus looked at himself in the mirror. It was crazy to think that after only two and a half weeks of missed quidditch practices his body had already begun to change. He took in with a grimace the sight of his fading abs that were slowly, but surely, being replaced with flab. His emerald green eyes, filled with pain and anger nowadays, drifted up towards his face. The long gashes that a mysterious source had given him two weeks ago still hadn't gone away. And despite Madame Pomfrey's best efforts, they were ever present on his formerly perfect face. All in all, Albus was losing his looks. This was a fact that Albus had accepted yesterday in Defence against the Dark Arts when, yet again, he sat alone, ignored by all of his former friends. Though their lack of attention paid to him was almost a blessing, considering they had been spending all of their time lately making fun of him. Remarks like "Scarface!" and "Ugly Git!" were thrown at him on a daily basis in hallways, common rooms, etc. Remarks that he had once used on other people were now being hurled back into his face. He knew that the few pounds he'd put on since leaving the quidditch team would soon be another thing his many enemies would throw in his face.

And it wasn't fair. It really wasn't fair. He shouldn't have had to leave the quidditch team. He shouldn't have been kicked off and had his captain duties revoked. Granted, beating the shit out of Hyron on the quidditch pitch hadn't been his brightest plan. But in his defense, Hyron was being a straight up jerk. Unfortunately, the headmistress hadn't seen it that way. So not only had Albus lost his handsome face and popularity, he'd also lost the sport and and title he'd loved so much. Albus' life was not going according to plan.

And Scorpius... Well things weren't exactly going according to plan there either. At first, Albus hated Scorpius. He hated Scorpius for making him question his sexuality. He hated Scorpius for losing him his popularity. But mostly he hated Scorpius because it was easier. It was much easier to hate Scorpius than to admit that he harbored romantic feelings for the boy. But ever since he'd punched Scorpius, Albus found it increasingly difficult to hate the blonde-haired boy. So now, besides worrying about his lack of looks, lack of quidditch, and lack of friends, he also got to worry about the lack of Scorpius in his life. Albus shook his head and sighed one last time before getting dressed and reluctantly heading towards the Great Hall.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed! I'm sorry that this chapter didn't have too much action, but I needed to do some filler to get everyone prepared for the upcoming chapters. I promise that things will get a lot more interesting (and a lot worse for poor Albus and Scorpius) soon enough. Once again, thank you so much for reading! Please do review, it means the world to me and I take every review to heart. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, so I'm still the worst updater ever... I'm sorry. Just assume I'm going to update within two weeks of each update lol. Thank you so much for the alerts/favorites/reviews I received! They made me so happy! And honestly, without them, I probably wouldn't be updating even this soon haha. Anyway, this chapter is longer than the previous ones because I feel really bad about taking so long to update. So I hope you enjoy it! Things are about to get intense! :)**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not.**

* * *

Although Scorpius was trying his hardest to ignore Albus, some things were easier said than done. Scorpius had woken up early and gone to the library to get in some last minute studying, and necessary alone time, before the craziness of classes. As he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, he noticed that as usual, Albus was sitting alone on the far end of the Slytherin table. Not even the first years would be seen around him. Scorpius sighed. He wanted to reach out to Albus, to talk to him. He wanted Albus to not feel so alone. He wanted to be Albus' best friend again. But these were not possible aspirations. So instead, Scorpius settled for sitting a mere four seats down from Albus.

He tried to eat his corn flakes in peace, but this turned into an impossible task very quickly. For one, he could hear the sneers and taunting directed towards Albus, the unmistakable mutterings of Hyron ringing throughout the Great Hall. All this attention Hyron paid to Albus made it really difficult for Scorpius to ignore him. And as if these two weren't enough to drive Scorpius crazy before first period even started, the bright red hair of Lily Potter sitting next to him certainly drove him right into insanity. He tried his best to ignore her, but before long she was poking him in the side hard enough to leave bruises.

"Scorpius, Scorp! Hello, earth to Scorp!" Lily yelled into Scorpius' ear.

"Oi, Lily! I'm gonna go deaf over here!" Scorpius yelled back at her, surprised that he'd spoken a word to her at all, let alone yelled.

"You're-you're talking to me? Oh Scorp! I've missed you!" Lily wrapped her arms around Scorpius, nearly squeezing the life out of him with her force. At this point, the little Scorpius Lily reunion had drawn quite a bit of attention. Scorpius noticed with a grimace that Albus had stopped eating and was obviously staring at the two of them. Not wanting to deal with all of this attention and eager to regain lung functioning, Scorpius carefully separated himself from Lily.

"Lily, as much as I've missed you too, can we continue this discussion outside?" Scorpius asked, his eyes darting between the door and Albus. Lily dramatically sighed and threw her arms in the air.

"Of course we can, Scorp! I'm just sooo glad you're finally speaking to me!" Scorpius followed Lily out of the Great Hall, smirking at her Gryffindor dramatics. The walk from the end of the Slytherin table to the great oak doors seemed to take forever, especially with the entire Slytherin and Gryffindor tables staring at them as they walked. While Scorpius squirmed under their glares and questioning looks, Lily seemed to feed off of them. She even dared to wink and blow kisses at some of the boys staring, which aggravated all the girls and furthered Scorpius' own self-consciousness and embarrassment. After what seemed like hours, they finally reached the hallway.

"So, Lily, what did you want-" Scorpius started, but was unable to finish his sentence because Lily slapped him.

"That's for not talking to me for two years! I thought we were friends. Just because my brother decided to be a jerk, doesn't mean you had to take it out on me too!" Scorpius rubbed his cheek, he was taken aback.

"Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you still wanted to be my friend" Scorpius said, tears forming in his eyes. At this point, he noticed that people were starting to filter out of the Great Hall, the majority of them staying to watch the scene that was taking place between Scorpius and Lily. Shortly after he noticed, Lily seemed to too. Then Scorpius saw a scary, familiar gleam come into her eyes. A look of mischief that only appeared when she was scheming.

"Scorpius! How dare you cheat on me with my brother of all people! I thought we had something!" Lily screeched, her hand flying to her forehead in feigned distress. Scorpius was utterly confused and had no idea how to respond.

"I-I don't-" Scorpius managed to stutter out before Lily interrupted him again.

"Well, I don't care about your excuses Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, we are over!" Lily screamed, then she leaned close to Scorpius and whispered, "Help my git of a brother. Meet me in the Astronomy Tower tonight at 9" Scorpius' look of puzzlement lasted much longer than it took for both Lily and the crowd to leave. The only person left in the hallway was Albus. Scorpius looked at him for a moment, before deciding to head off to class.

* * *

Albus couldn't get the idea of Scorpius and Lily out of his mind. They had been dating? There was just no way. He would know, he would totally know. Right? He went into Charms in the foulest mood he'd experienced in the last three weeks. He was so angry, in fact, that when Hyron made his usual comments, Albus completely ignored him. When he realized the only open seat was next to Scorpius, his anger only swelled. He practically threw himself into the chair, roughly elbowing Scorpius when he reached for his Charms book. Scorpius shot him a glare, but otherwise did nothing.

Albus knew, somewhere in the far back of his mind, that he was being ridiculous. Who cares if Scorpius and Lily had been dating? As much as he'd made fun of Scorpius, he still knew Scorpius was smart, funny, good looking, kind... Okay, he cared. He cared a lot, because Scorpius couldn't date his little sister. Scorpius couldn't date Lily, because Scorpius was meant to date Albus. Scorpius was supposed to be in love with Albus. Albus paled at this realization. He then spent the rest of the period and the rest of the day ignoring everyone. He didn't even bother to look up at Professors when they were talking to him. After what seemed like hours, his day finally ended and he made it back into the common room. He collapsed into his bed in seconds, casting silencing and protection spells around himself as he cried himself into a stupor. There was no denying it now. He was gay. He was gay and in love with Scorpius. And there was just no way this story could have a happy ending.

* * *

Scorpius entered the dorm room to see Albus' curtains pulled around his bed. He didn't dare disturb whatever Albus was busy with. He merely grabbed his books, quills, and parchment and went down to the common room to do homework. Normally he'd have to hide out in the library or some other deserted hallway, but today, Hyron and the Slytherin Quidditch team had practice, meaning the common room would be mostly empty of people who would devote themselves to making Scorpius miserable. Scorpius sat down at a table in the far corner of the room and began on his Runes homework. As he finished the last of his Potions work, he checked his watch. It was 8:53 PM, which left him barely enough time to run up to the Astronomy tower and meet up with Lily.

Scorpius was flushed by the time he reached the top of the Astronomy Tower.

"Three minutes late, Scorpius. I'm surprised" Lily said in a serious tone, quickly replaced by the huge grin on her face. Lily Luna Potter was certainly an enigma at Hogwarts. Her fiery red hair and fiercely blue eyes coupled with her confidence and no prisoner attitude made her a force to be reckoned with. Scorpius learned pretty quickly into his friendship with Albus that Lily was going to get serious stuff done in her life.

"Sorry, Lils, I was finishing up homework" Scorpius smiled at how easily he slipped back into using childhood nicknames with her.

"Typical responsible Scorpius. I know my dad's upset that you and Al aren't friends anymore if for nothing else then Al's grades have suffered for it" Lily smiled and stepped closer to Scorpius. "So, what are we going to do about Albus? We can't let him carry on the way he has been, nor can we let him go back to his old ways"

"Lily, I'm not sure how I fit in to any of this" Scorpius said, genuinely confused. I mean sure, him and Albus had been friends. And yes, it was their kiss that had ruined Al's reputation. But that didn't mean that there was anything he could do to help Albus, especially since he seriously doubted Albus would even accept his help.

"How do you fit into any of this? Scorpius, don't be thick! You're the key to the plan! The only way for us to get the old Albus back is for you to bring him back with force!" Lily yelled, her flaming hair flying wildly around her head as she shook with excitement. "Now, let's get down to business..."

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Albus woke up with a start. He really should talk to Professor Higgs about getting a sleeping draught. His nightmares were getting worse. He couldn't seem to make it through the night without reliving the accident that changed his life so much. He checked his watch, it was 9:06 PM. His stomach grumbled, alerting him that he'd slept through dinner. He groggily got up and opened his curtains. He slipped into his shoes and readjusted his robes, smoothing out the wrinkles. He crept through the dorm and through the common room, ignoring the glares of the few Slytherins that were lounging around the fire. He snuck through the dungeons towards the kitchens. He eventually made it to the portrait of the fruit, tickling the pear like his brother James had taught him five years before. Albus walked into the kitchens, the house elves eager to serve Harry Potter's son.

Several minutes later, after being sufficiently stuffed with food, Albus began his trek back to the dungeons. He was so content from the food and Scorpius-free thoughts, that he didn't noticed the three figures looming behind him, until he was hit in the back with a jinx.

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**So as usual, please review! It means so very much to me. I'd love for your opinions on the story, because nothing is set in stone plot wise ;) So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I know this is like 6 months since my last update. Believe me, I know I suck. I just couldn't find time or inspiration to write. Hopefully since finals end next Saturday and I have a month off I'll be able to update a few chapters. I don't see this being longer than 20 chapters, but who knows. This chapter is mostly a bit of fluff, the real explaining of things will start to happen next chapter. Either way, I hope you all enjoy and I'm perpetually sorry for the lengthy time between updates. Feel free to PM me with angry messages. I really hope this lives up to the wait (though I'm sure it won't quite). Please, as always, read and review! Thanks so much. :)**

**JK Rowling owns Harry Potter. I do not.**

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Scorpius left Lily's side feeling both better and worse than he had that morning. On the one hand, he had rekindled a friendship (doubling his friend count) and come up with a plan to, at the very least, get Albus as his friend again. On the other hand, the plan was hinged on the fact that Albus cared deeply about Scorpius... Something that Scorpius had a very hard time believing. But, Lily had insisted, and arguing with Lily was like arguing with a dragon: you were likely to be set on fire. So Scorpius agreed to her crazy scheme, in which she would play wounded lover and he would play the unfortunate bastard who dated her to get to her brother. Scorpius originally thought the idea sounded absolutely mad. But as Lily let details fall into place, he realized that like Lily, the plan was a force to be reckoned with.

However, just because he'd agreed to this plot, it didn't mean he was confident. Every way in which the plan could go wrong had crossed his mind, leaving marks of worry on his forehead as he thought long and hard. The chances of Albus actually caring enough about him to stop moping and befriend him again was, unlikely at best. The most he had hoped for was an angry Albus at least going after Scorpius for hurting his sister. At least then he'd be closer to the Albus he'd been the past couple years... Anything was better than the mopey Albus currently roaming the castle. It killed Scorpius to see Albus so upset, even if he did deserve some of it because of his past mean ways. Either way, Scorpius just couldn't see this plan working. He was so entranced with visions of how the plan could end up screwing him over, that he nearly tripped over the body in the hallway. As he looked down to see who it was, his heart nearly stopped in fear.

Albus looked up groggily, feeling stings of pain on his face and upper body. Through hazy vision, he recognized Scorpius looming above him. He smiled stupidly before his vision fogged and he was forced to shut his eyes. He felt Scorpius' wiry but muscular arms wrap themselves around his torso.

Scorpius' heart had regained its beating and was now working overtime. He carried Albus to the infirmary, surprisingly avoiding any teachers or fellow students. By the time he reached Madame Pomfrey, his arms were aching and a light sweat beaded on his forehead. Albus was really much heavier than he looked. As he stumbled his way into the room, Madame Pomfrey came shuffling over.

"Heavens boy! What's happened?" Pomfrey screeched.

It took Scorpius several moments to catch his breath enough to gasp out, "Not sure, found him, in the hallway, like this".

"You're not looking so good yourself... Help me move Albus to that bed over there. Then you can lay down in the one next to him" Pomfrey said, grabbing Albus under the shoulders and beginning to hoist him up onto the bed. Scorpius managed to garner the rest of his strength to help Madame Pomfrey move Albus into the bed. Then he quickly collapsed on the other bed. Scorpius tried his hardest to stay awake while Albus was examined, but after the day's crazy, hectic events, he fell asleep.

Albus came to right as he heard Madame Pomfrey explaining that he had a concussion to McGonagall.

"It appears as if someone came up behind him and used a blunt object to hit him in the head. Luckily for Albus, he seems to have a pretty thick skull" Humor danced in Madame Pomfrey's eyes as she made this last comment.

McGonagall managed a weak smile before she said, "I wonder if it was the Nott boy. Him and Albus did have that altercation during quidditch a few weeks back... I'm afraid I have a lot of investigating to do". McGonagall sighed and rubbed her temple. For the millionth time that school year she thought she was getting too old for this."Well, I'll leave you to your business Poppy. Though I do have one question, why is the Malfoy boy in a hospital bed?"

"He carried Albus all the way here from near the dungeons. Certainly tired him out, he collapsed on that bed about an hour ago" Pomfrey explained, admiration for Scorpius clearly shining in her eyes.

"Well that's certainly interesting" McGonagall said, her eyebrows furrowing in slight confusion. "Well, I guess that's all Poppy. We'll discuss this again later" And with that, McGonagall briskly walked out of the Hospital Wing.

Albus couldn't help but smile. Scorp had saved him! He had carried him all the way to the hospital! Then Albus remembered the supposed affair Scorpius and his sister had been having and his smile vanished, replaced with a scowl.

"You know, Mr. Potter, if you keep scowling like that, it might become your face's default setting," Madame Pomfrey said with a smirk. Albus replaced the scowl with a slight frown.

"Much better. Now how are you feeling?" Madame Pomfrey asked, waiting to examine him further now that he was awake.

"Uhh, I'm okay. My head hurts a bit," Albus said, wincing as he lifted himself up.

"Well, nothing appears to be too terribly wrong with you. You're free to go back to your dorm, just be careful not to run into any more trouble," she said, nearly shooing him off the bed. Some bedside manner that was. Albus went to stand and leave, when he remembered that Scorp was still in the hospital wing. He glanced over at the bed where Scorp was sleeping. He looked like he was having a nightmare, his face contorted into a grimace, his hands fidgeting at his sides.

"Perhaps you should wake him and take him with you, Mr. Potter" Madame Pomfrey said, gesturing towards Scorpius. Albus didn't even bother to think twice about it, walking towards the bed Scorpius was sleeping on. He reached down to shake Scorpius awake. Right as he was about to touch Scorpius' shoulder, he shot straight up in bed, knocking his face, or really his lips, into Albus. At first Albus was shocked, but then, the next thing he knew, he was leaning into the surprise kiss. Then Scorpius gained full composure and pushed Albus off of him.

"I-I'm s-sorry" Scorpius managed to stutter out before backing himself up against the wall on the bed.

"Its, uh, fine. No big deal," Albus managed to breath out, his voice much deeper than normal.

"Well boys, I think it's time for you to head back to your rooms..." Madame Pomfrey said, in an attempt to remind them that she was present and while she appreciated young love and all that, this was still a hospital wing and all kissing or whatever else should take place outside of it at least. Scorpius turned bright pink. the tinge so obvious on his usually pale white skin. Albus had the decency to cough and look guilty as he grabbed Scorpius' arm as he pulled him out into the hallway, away from Madame Pomfrey and her prying eyes.

Scorpius' heart was beating a million miles an hour. He'd just kissed Albus. He'd just kissed Albus after everything that happened the last time they kissed. He'd just kissed Albus and Albus had kissed him back... again. He couldn't even believe it. A feeling of joy and anxiety overcame him. He was pretty close to hyperventilating.

"You're thinking too hard about it" Albus said, a light chuckle echoing through the halls. They walked side by side, Albus' hand brushing Scorp's every couple of steps. Albus wasn't really sure why exactly it happened, but a calm had come over him. A calm feeling that he hadn't felt since before his friendship with Scorpius had ended fifth year. Then Albus remembered the fight between Scorpius and Lily that looked so much like a lovers' quarrel.

"So, uh, you and Lily? I won't tell her about what happened back there, I know you didn't know what you were doing..." Albus said, realizing that Scorpius probably had no intention of kissing him, that Albus had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time (though it had certainly felt like exactly the right place).

Scorpius thought for a couple of seconds... Should he reveal his and Lily's plan to Albus? Or should he play along with it for awhile and risk pissing Albus off...

"Albus, uh, about Lily, we-" Albus cut him off.

"You don't have to explain it, Scorp. I get it. Lily's totally great" Albus said, trying really hard to put some enthusiasm behind his words.

"Albus, it really isn't the way it seems," Scorpius tried, deciding it was better to explain everything than risk upsetting Albus.

"Scorp, really, don't worry. But I do want to ask you something.." Albus said, trying and failing at swallowing his nervousness.

"Uh, sure Al, what is it?" Scorpius asked, deciding he'd bring the Lily subject up later.

The use of his childhood nickname from Scorpius did not go unnoticed by Albus, giving him the courage to ask what he wanted, "Do you want to, I mean, can we maybe, if it isn't too much trouble, uhm, you know-" Albus stumbled over his words, trying to figure out exactly how he wanted to say it. "Can we, uhm, go back to being friends, maybe, possibly?" Albus offered Scorpius a weak smile as he felt his face heat up in embarrassment.

"Of course, Al!" Scorpius nearly squeaked. "I mean, uh, yeah, sure," Scorpius said in a voice much deeper than his normal one, hoping to not sound quite so excited and lame.

"Great, I mean, uh, good," Albus spoke, hoping to conceal some of his excitement.

Not even a minute later, the two came upon the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Scorpius muttered the password, "Basilisk" and was followed by Albus. Due to the fact their other dormmates were sleeping, they silently got ready for bed and went to sleep. Neither knew that the other went to bed smiling, thinking that things were finally going to go their way.

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**So, there's that. I hope you liked it. Once again, terribly sorry about the enormous delay between updates. Look for another update sometime in the next week and a half. And, please, review! I really would love/need some ideas for where this story should go/where y'all want it to go. Thanks again! :)**


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